Top Mistakes that Derail Market Research (and How to Avoid Them)
Market analysis is key to understanding your customers and your competitors. It provides you with insights that can help drive better business planning and strategy.
Just like with your business, good market research takes a bit of planning and strategy. One false move can drive a good research project into the ground faster than you can say “qualitative data collection”.
Here are the top six mistakes that can derail research, and how to avoid them.
1. Doing Research at the Wrong Time
Research is an investment, so you want to make sure you really need it. To be sure now is the time to begin a research project, gather key stakeholders who need the data you’re going to produce and ask yourselves the following questions:
- Is something “broken?”
- What problem (if any) do you need to correct?
- Is there something you need/want to improve or change?
- Do you need to expand your program or strategy?
- Do you have an information gap?
- Is there something new you need to discover or learn about?
- Will better data solve the problem?
This simple exercise will be extremely valuable in deciding whether to hire a research consultant and how to utilize them.
2. Not Knowing What You’re Looking For
Doing market research in an effort to find out “something” (i.e. anything!) about your customers may prove to be expensive, and in many cases, unhelpful. Brainstorm some specific questions before beginning a research project such as:
- Where can I find new customers?
- Why isn’t my product selling?
- How do customers perceive our brand?
- How much would my customers be willing to spend on this product?
- What do customers love about my product or service?
- Where do we fall short?
Being very clear about the goal of the research will make it more cost-efficient and produce better results.
3. Focusing Too Narrowly
Companies often come to us with a single, burning yes-no question. But it’s not that simple. Any strategic question you might ask in a survey involves multiple factors that influence the answer. Ideally, you want to answer not only the Yes or No of your question, but also the Why.
If you let it, market research data can not only answer your key question, but also shape new strategies for going to market, sales, advertising, shelf promotion, packaging messaging, and many other innovations.
4. Asking the Wrong People
Asking the wrong people is one of top reasons research projects fall short. If your survey target sample is too broad, you risk gathering irrelevant data. If it’s too narrow, your target will be hard, and maybe impossible, to find. And you may miss or overlook a segment that could be important,if your narrow assumptions are off-base.
Depending on the goals of your market study, you may need to survey not only customers, but also potential customers, former customers, employees, distributors, vendors, and more.
5. Not Using the Right Resources and Methodology
Your research is only as good as your research materials. So, when it comes to insights that determine your business’ next move, Google is not good enough. Neither is just handing out a questionnaire.
Research methods and materials must be up-to date, accurate, unbiased, and aligned with the goals of the research project or study. To ensure that you achieve valid results, consider utilizing the skills of a professional librarian and/or a qualified research partner.
6. Ignoring the Data
What’s the point of investing in research if you’re not going to use it? Believe it or not, “credenza research” happens all the time (valuable results sit, ignored, on the actual or digital “credenza” in someone’s office). Business owners will often ignore concrete data simply because it did not provide the answers they hoped for. Don’t fall prey to this fatal mistake.
Every business requires a different strategy and approach. To discuss your unique needs, contact us now.
